CNN's GUT CHECK | for April 25, 2014 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

BREAKING… FEDS CLOSE TO GRIMM CHARGES:Federal prosecutors are preparing criminal charges against two-term New York GOP Rep. Michael Grimm, capping a two-year FBI investigation that ranges from his business dealings to his first campaign for Congress in 2010, U.S. officials briefed on the matter said. Grimm made headlines in January when he was shown on camera threatening to throw a reporter over the Capitol Hill balcony after an interview following the State of the Union address. – Evan Perez

NRA ISSUES HILLARY WARNING… Gun-rights advocates praised the punishment of Colorado legislators for new firearms restrictions and blasted a new gun-control effort launched by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It was all part of a predictable helping of rhetorical red meat at Friday’s opening of the annual National Rifle Association meeting in Indianapolis. The opening session also included warnings about a potential Hillary Clinton presidential run. “They're out there laying the groundwork to put a Clinton back in the White House," NRA President Wayne LaPierre said to a round of boos. – Ashley Killough and Dana Davidsen

CNN's GUT CHECK | for April 24, 2014 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

DEMOCRATS SEIZE ON RACIST NEVADA RANCHER REMARKS…Racist comments from Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy – who earlier this month appeared to win a highly publicized standoff against federal authorities over his two-decade long illegal grazing of cattle on public land – are giving Democrats a new weapon to attack some top Republicans who quickly came to Bundy's defense.– Ashley Killlough, Paul Steinhauser and Leigh Ann Caldwell

HARRY REID: ‘HATEFUL’: “To advance his extreme, hateful views, Bundy has endangered the lives of innocent women and children. This is not a game.”

WHILE REPUBLICANS DISTANCE THEMSELVES...

RAND PAUL: ‘OFFENSIVE’:“His remarks on race are offensive and I wholeheartedly disagree with him.”

REINCE PRIEBUS: ‘BEYOND THE PALE’: "Bundy's comments are completely beyond the pale. Both highly offensive and 100% wrong on race."

CNN's GUT CHECK | for April 18, 2014 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PUNTS KEYSTONE DECISION … The Obama administration indefinitely suspended a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline Friday, telling multiple leaders in Congress it is extending the comment period on the matter until the conclusion of a Nebraska lawsuit on the issue… An earlier State Department report on the pipeline found that it would have no significant environmental impact. That report was initially due to be finalized after a public comment period ended in early May, but the Obama administration is now holding that period open.– Lisa Desjardins

Keystone advocates immediately blasted the decision. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called the extension, “shameful” and “egregious.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, joked: “I guess (the president) wasn’t serious about having a pen and a phone.” Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, D-North Dakota, and Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, called the delay “ridiculous” and “unacceptable.”

Environmental groups were pleased. “The State Department is taking the most prudent course of action possible,” the National Resources Defense Council said in a statement. “The newly extended comment period will show what we already know: the more Americans learn about this project, the more they see that the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is not in the national interest.’’ FULL POST